James Harden, Clippers beat Sixers thoroughly

On By Littum

Well, the city’s jerseys and pitch look nice. Whether basketball was played in/on them is another story.

The Sixers were demolished 125-99 by the LA Clippers on Sunday night and dropped to 3-13 on the season.

Jared McCain had his first off night as a starter, but still finished with a team-high 18 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Tyrese Maxey had 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. James Harden led all scorers with 23 points along with eight assists.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

  • The smaller starting lineup the Sixers have used didn’t get off to a good start defensively. The Clippers scored on six of their first seven trips down the floor and capitalized on several second-chance opportunities. The Clippers grabbed six offensive rebounds in the opening quarter.
  • In addition to not getting any stops, they once again could not buy a shot on offense. They started the game just 1-of-9 from three and shot 45.5% from the field in the quarter. The only thing resembling a good look they got early were Kelly Oubre Jr.’s fast breaks.
  • The best offense in that quarter from the Sixers might have been from Reggie Jackson, and all he did was get to the basket once and knock down a three. It was a tough quarter for McCain, who was 0-of-2 from three and a turnover that probably should have been credited to him, but he was able to get to the line four times. The Sixers trailed by 12 after the first.

Second Quarter

  • The offense was a little better to start the second. Maxey getting on the board helped, but their defense was still a mess. They continued to get killed on the glass and their aggressive double teaming resulted in the ball being swung to wide open shooters more often than not.
  • The defense finally locked in midway through the quarter as the Clippers went nearly five minutes without a field goal. While the Sixers were able to take the lead, the offense going cold again made it difficult to go on a big run. McCain had a bad night – he looked really good in his regular spots, but they just didn’t fall. Even when it doesn’t fall his way, he just moves the ball really well.
  • Despite a minor minutes restriction for Maxey, it felt like he had a fairly passive half. He made a really tough and-1 layup toward the end of the half, bringing him to just six points on six shots. After an even quarter, the Sixers went into halftime still down by 12 points.

Third Quarter

  • The Clippers went on a 7-0 run to start the second half that was largely the result of Derrick Jones Jr. was open. It turned into a 9-0 run after a quick Sixers timeout when Harden got to the free throw line. The Sixers tried to go bigger with Andre Drummond out there with Guerschon Yabusele, but they still couldn’t stop Harden’s two-man play with Ivica Zubac.
  • Maxey was more confident at the start of the third, doubling his point total in just a couple of balls, but he checked out about five minutes into the quarter. The Sixers continued to run a lineup with both Maxey and McCain on the bench for over three minutes as the Clippers’ lead grew.
  • McCain finally got on the board with a three with five seconds left in the quarter, insert “Chris Paul cuts lead to 42” meme. The Sixers trailed by 25 at the end of the third.

Fourth Quarter

  • The final quarter was pretty much just a clock to see if McCain could keep his 20-point streak alive. He entered the quarter with 12 points despite going 2-of-11 from the floor. The end of the bench started to chip in when Adem Bona and Lestor Quinones checked into the game three and a half minutes into the quarter.
  • The Sixers finish this farm on Wednesday when it Houston Rockets came to town at 19 A.M.